


The Snow Girl

by ab2fsycho



Series: Why is Tea Always Gone [6]
Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Manny introduces a new individual into Jack's and Pitch's lives, Multi, and a little trouble of her own, someone who has much in common with them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-10
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-29 00:38:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/998786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ab2fsycho/pseuds/ab2fsycho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The girl was alone in frozen mountains surrounded by dead . . . until she met another winter spirit and the man in black.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Winter Spirit and the Man in Black

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shinku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinku/gifts).



> Also a gift to nona_evil.
> 
> Shinku, you will understand why this is gifted to you soon enough.

When she stared up at the man in black, she was taken aback by her inability to freeze him at will. Her heart hammered. In her short time on this earth, she’d never encountered someone she couldn’t freeze. Or anyone so terrifying. His appearance screamed threat. She started to take to the breeze, but he grabbed her arm before she could escape him. She screamed more over the heat of his hand than the fact that his gaze seemed just as deadly as hers could be.

“No!” she cried, trying to pry his fingers off her small arm. Though cold seeped from her, coating his arm with ice, he didn’t seem fazed at all. He never even blinked.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he spoke. His voice was low, a mockery of what was meant to be soothing. Her heart pounded though he gentled his grip. “I’m here to help you.”

“How?” she asked. Fear ignited every nerve in her. She wasn’t unnerved just because he didn’t react to her chill. She wasn’t unnerved just because her gaze couldn’t freeze him in place. Something about the man in black inspired an innate fear in her. 

“The Man in the Moon sent us,” came a voice from behind her. She dared to turn and look at who had spoken, expecting to find another like the man in black. Instead, she found herself being confronted by . . . someone like her. A winter spirit.

“No, the Man in the Moon sent one of us,” the man in black corrected the winter spirit. His voice was edged with annoyance.

“Did he give you a name?” the winter spirit asked.

She found it easier to address him than the man in black. “Onna,” she found herself answering. “Yuki-onna.”

“Yuki-onna,” the winter spirit repeated. “Do you prefer Onna?” When she nodded, he said, “That’s a pretty name. You can call me Jack. That,” he pointed to the man in black, “is Pitch.”

“How can you help me?” she asked, still fearful even though the man in black had let her go. “Why don’t my powers work on you?” she asked Pitch.

“We’re immortals. Cold only harms us but so much,” the man in black answered.

“And we can start by giving you a home,” Jack said. “Better than living alone, don’t you think?”

Though she hadn’t been awake long enough to realize she wasn’t the only spirit out here, she had been awake long enough to realize loneliness could be crippling. And humans were fragile. That was another thing she’d realized. Part of her hoped these men, these immortals, didn’t find the bodies buried around where she’d emerged. When she’d awakened, she’d been certain her ice had killed them.

Staring at the winter spirit, she thought about what he’d asked her. What he’d told her. He knew the Man in the Moon. He knew the Man in the Moon had named her. That had been all he’d done, really, but the winter spirit knew. He knew what and who she was. And he was here to help.

When Jack offered a hand she ran to him, throwing small arms around his legs. He was the first person she’d touched of her own accord. She was both surprised and glad that they were almost the same temperature. Her ice didn’t affect him at all.

For the first time in her brief existence, she smiled.



“This will be the first individual I’ve actually invited into my lair.”

“Other than me?”

Pitch smirked. “That wasn’t so much an invitation as it was a bait and hook.”

“Point taken.” They watched Onna sleep on a pile of snow. She was curled up in an area Pitch had designated as hers, resting peacefully. Her waist-length, straight, black hair blanketed her. Her cloudy blue eyes had been haunting, distinctly because her pupils weren’t black but a lighter shade of iridescent blue than her irises. He could see how humans could get stuck staring into that gaze long enough for her to freeze them. She could easily hold someone in place with no hope for escape. Though Jack Frost and Yuki-onna both controlled ice, there was no doubt that her abilities held a more insidious note than his. Her ice crept along with her every movement, much like Pitch’s shadows. To keep her from spreading trails of ice throughout the lair and inevitably causing accidents, Jack had gotten her a pair of white boots to match her pale dress. Jack could see why Manny thought the youngest Guardian and his Boogeyman would be the most help to the lost girl. “I hope Tooth has her memories.”

“She may not want them,” Pitch responded. “Some don’t want to remember.”

Again, Pitch had a point. The girl had awakened surrounded by dead. They were most likely her family members. Why Manny had chosen her to be revived . . . Jack hadn’t bothered asking. He knew he wouldn’t get a clear-cut answer. Jack stared up at the Nightmare King, noticing for the first time a certain curiosity and light on her face. “You like her.”

Jack could see Pitch trying to hide the sentiment he’d shown. He wasn’t very successful. “She is one of the few things you’ve brought here that I don’t foresee us having any issue with.”

Unlike someone else we know, right?” Jack pinned Pitch with a gimlet stare. “That’s not all, is it?”

Pitch was quiet for a few moments. When he answered, Jack knew he was telling the truth. “She reminds me of you.”

Jack smiled. Pitch continued staring at the sleeping Onna, giving Jack the perfect opportunity to surprise him with a kiss on the cheek. Jack blushed at how his eyes still widened just the slightest bit at the contact. He had to refrain from shouting when a shadow wrapped around his waist and yanked him up against Pitch’s side. The shadow was soon replaced by Pitch’s arm. “Will I ever get used to that?”

“I sincerely doubt it.” They’d been together three years. If Jack hadn’t gotten used to Pitch’s shadow manipulation by now, he never would.

Jack had a sneaking suspicion that Pitch enjoyed that.


	2. The Fearling and the Snow Girl

“I like her,” Rin whispered, hovering in the darkness.

“I can tell,” Jack responded to the Fearling. “You haven’t stopped staring at her since she came here.” In fact, Rin was hovering over the smaller winter spirit now.

“Can she really freeze anything just by looking at it?”

“Just mortals, I think. If she touches things with her bare skin, they’ll freeze. Hence the shoes.”

“There can only be one icing the bridges in this lair,” Rin said deviously. “When can I meet her?”

“As soon as she stops being scared of Pitch.”

Rin snorted, his voice thrown from the shadows surrounding Onna to beside Jack as he manifested out of the darkness. Jack didn’t jump. Rin’s disappearing and reappearing stunts were nothing compared to Pitch’s. “She’s afraid of the Nightmare Man?”

“Most people are.” Jack started walking, leaving Onna in her resting place.

Rin followed. “And I’m scarier than him?”

Jack only needed to glance at Rin once to determine who was more frightening. Pitch was otherworldly. Rin was a caricature of the human race. Humans tended to fear that more. Distorted mirrors were more terrifying than freak shows. The only reason Jack felt justified in thinking that was because Pitch had taught him that lesson, using those words himself. With that in mind, Jack answered, “Yes.”

Rin looked down, swinging his metal rod from side to side as he walked. “I don’t know whether to be proud or depressed.”

“Why would you be depressed?” Jack knew it was a dumb question before Rin pinned him with a gimlet stare.

“I may live on fear, but I don’t want to scare _everyone_.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?”

It was Jack’s turn to give Rin an odd look. Without warning, the youngest Guardian placed a hand on the back of Rin’s neck. Rin jumped forward and out of Jack’s reach. As the Fearling began rubbing the back of his neck to heat it up again, Jack said, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to freeze you.”

“Couldn’t you have just said why you understand?”

“Would it have gotten my point across?”

“How do you handle being so cold all the time?”

“How do you handle being a little ass all the time?”

Rin laughed, making Jack grin. Then Rin said, “No wonder Pitch . . . well, pitches. You probably have a popsicle for a—.”

“And this is where I shut you up,” Jack said over Rin’s tirade, his cheeks flushing. Rin’s laughter grew.



Pitch watched the girl from the shadows, certain that eventually she would wake up. She had slept a great deal since her arrival. Her pile of snow had not yet begun to melt, however. He suspected that was because she herself was little more than a block of ice. Much like Jack. The thought made Pitch smile to himself.

One of his Nightmares crept from the shadows, walking over to investigate the Snow Girl’s presence. Pitch hissed, preparing to step out of the darkness and disintegrate the being. Then Onna woke up. She stirred slightly, opening her cloudy, blue eyes and staring directly at the creature. She didn’t scream. She didn’t do anything except stare. The Nightmare stared back, unmoving and searching for the girl’s fear. Though he didn’t sense any fear coming off the girl, Pitch thought it best to still dispel the Nightmare.

Before Pitch could leave the shadows, a certain Fearling came running from the dark across the room, chasing the Nightmare away. “Get on outta here!” Rin shouted. Pitch watched Onna’s reaction to Rin carefully. While the Fearling had been intelligent enough to wear his hood, there was no way he was going to be able to conceal the whole of his face. It didn’t take much time for Rin to realize Onna was actually awake and staring at him. Her expression was unreadable. When he looked at her and she saw his face clearly for the first time, she reacted as Pitch had suspected she would. She gasped, her eyes widening, then covered her mouth as if that would retract her inhale. “Shit!” Rin said as he dropped his rod and pulled at his hood, struggling to hide his face. “Sorry! You’re not supposed to see me yet!”

Pitch shifted in the shadows, moving to a point in the lair where he could see both of them better. He stayed quiet, wondering what they would do next. Running a restless hand over his hair, he watched the scene unfold without interrupting.

Onna stood, leaving her snow pile for the first time since she’d arrived. She was a head shorter than Rin, who was still trying to cover his face with his hood. Pitch could still see the Fearling’s razor mouth, though. One grin, and the Fearling could chase Onna away. 

Where was Jack when he needed him? Jack would know exactly how to handle this situation. Jack would’ve intervened by now, but Pitch suddenly thought it best to let the Fearling and the Snow Girl work it out on their own. When blood spilled Pitch would intervene.

Onna stepped closer, quiet and scared. She wasn’t as scared as she had been when Jack and Pitch had first found her. She wasn’t as scared as she had been when she first saw Rin’s face. She was . . . curious. He saw the curiosity in her furrowed brow. When Onna was toe-to-toe with Rin, she reached up. Pitch thought she was going to touch his hands, pull them away from his face. She hesitated, her fingers just above Rin’s closed fists. Instead, she elected to touch his hood. Ice spiraled over the fabric as she dislodged Rin’s grip on the hood and pulled it off his head. He still kept his face covered with his hands even after she raised the hood. Onna still refused to touch his hands.

“Let me see you,” she muttered. Pitch was leaning forward now, enthralled in the two’s interaction.

Rin peeked over his hands, covering the lower half of his face still. “Aren’t you scared?” His question was muffled by his palms.

She was, but to her credit she hid it well. Shaking her head, she said, “I don’t want to make you cold, so move your hands.”

“I don’t wanna freak you out, so I’d rather not.” He covered his eyes again as he said, “And you’re making me cold standing this close to me, so don’t worry about it.”

“Sorry!” she apologized hastily, taking a few steps back.

“No, wait—!” Before he could think to stop himself, his hands dropped and revealed the rest of his face. 

Black and gold, shadow-infested eyes met clouded, light blue ones that gave the initial impression that the girl was blind. She took in his appearance as he froze in place, afraid that any sudden movements would frighten her. It was Rin’s fear Pitch tasted now. Funny. This was the first individual other than Jack and himself that the Fearling had sought something resembling approval from, and he was terrified of failing.

Onna was the first to break eye contact. Bending over, she picked up Rin’s metal rod and held it out to him. The gesture was friendly, but Rin was still wary. “Why do you have this?” she asked, prompting him to take the rod and speak to her.

Rin’s face relaxed, his eyes widening. “You’re . . . you’re not scared?” She shook her head. A slow smile crept across Rin’s face. He tried to squelch it, knowing that his smile was the most terrifying thing about him. She amazed both Rin and Pitch by smiling at his shyness. A soft chuckle escaped the Fearling as he gingerly took the rod. On a space on the wall beside them, he ran the end of the rod across the stone. Dark frost covered the wall in an enchanting pattern.

Onna’s smile widened as her fingers grazed the pattern, thickening the black ice with her touch. Rin’s own smile widened at the sight of her joy. The two laughed. Before Onna realized what she was doing, she hugged Rin. Rin stiffened at the contact, giving the impression that Onna’s ice was making him too cold. She stepped back, releasing him immediately. “Sorry, I didn’t—.”

“Please,” Rin said, waving away her apology. “I’m still getting used to hugs and stuff.” To prove he didn’t mind the chill, he took her hands in his. Though ice ran up his arms, frosting over his sleeves, he didn’t flinch.

Pitch believed this was the happiest he’d seen Rin. This also happened to be the first time he’d seen Onna smile quite so vibrantly. Seeing them together and happy reminded Pitch of something. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. As he continued watching them get to know each other, Rin showing her that he could dive into shadows and appear anywhere in the lair while she became a cold mist that could travel similarly, he thought he understood what he was watching. He was watching Jack and himself in an alternate reality. His eyes and lips twitched at the very thought.

“You’re such a softie,” Jack said from beside him.

Pitch turned his head quickly, realizing the winter spirit had managed not only to sneak up on him but also to find him in the shadows. Jack smirked, as though he knew what Pitch was thinking. Pitch grumbled, “You’re learning my tricks.”

“Some things I’m still not used to, but this,” he gestured to their position in the shadows, “is not one of those things.” They returned to watching Onna and Rin interact, Pitch folding his arms while Jack set his staff aside and placed his hands in the pouch pocket of his hoodie. Eventually Pitch stopped watching, for all intents and purposes, their children play. It was borderline impossible to see Rin as a child despite his form. Onna was, in fact, still a child. But he stopped watching the two and started watching Jack. Jack’s eyes lit up as he watched the two interact. Onna and Rin complimented one another in much the same ways Jack and Pitch did. Before Pitch could ask, Jack actually said, “They really do seem like they’re related to us.”

“That they do,” Pitch uttered.

It was then Jack noticed Pitch watching him with a crooked smile. “What?”

“What?”

“What’s that look supposed to be?”

“Just enjoying a good view, now.”

An exquisite blush spread over Jack’s cheeks. “You’re not referring to—.”

“I was watching them long before you arrived. The view I’m enjoying is right here beside me.”

Pitch smiled as Jack played back, “You’ve enjoyed this view before.” 

“And I hold the right to enjoy it again.” With that, Pitch’s arm snaked around Jack’s shoulders and pulled him into a tight embrace. His lips met the Guardian’s, a brief moment of peace falling over them before Pitch found himself tightening his hold on the winter spirit. Jack responded by wrapping his arms around Pitch’s waist, a moan escaping him as Pitch deepened the kiss. By the time Pitch pulled away, they were gasping. “Do you think they can be left unattended for a bit?” the Nightmare King managed.

“I don’t see why not.”

“Excellent.”

Onna and Rin continued their gallivanting through the lair undisturbed and unhindered. Meanwhile, Pitch and Jack disappeared to a part of the lair where they were certain the kids couldn’t find them.


	3. Mother Nature and Santa Claus

“Sera!” She was largely surprised by Rin’s pleasant, bordering on excited greeting. “Sera! You have to explain me a thing!”

“What is it twerp?”

He was so excited, jumping from shadow to shadow, that he didn’t even acknowledge the insult. “Teach me how to braid hair.”

She quirked an eyebrow at the request. “Planning on experimenting with yourself?” He did have a mop of hair. It could use some taming. Still, it was unlike Rin to want to experiment with something so simplistic.

“No. Onna has hair long enough for me to braid. She’d look good, you know?” Rin appeared in front of her then. “Come, Sera. You were a girl once.”

“Once?”

“You know, before you became a furry!”

Now that comment was more like Rin. It made her smile despite herself. “I’ve never braided anything a single day in my life.” It wasn’t a lie. She hadn’t. It had been a challenge for people to get her to style her hair. It remained a challenge today.

Rin huffed, his shoulders sagging. “Now who am I supposed to go to? If I ask anyone else, I’ll probably get attacked.”

“I dunno, brat. Who do you think braided my hair when I was, as you put it, not a furry?”

Rin’s face lit up in the most frightening way she’d ever seen. “Pitch! Nightmare Man!” he shouted before running headlong into the shadows of the lair. “I have a mighty need!”

Sera heard the Nightmare King grumble before answering the Fearling. The two were somewhere deep in the lair where she couldn’t find them by simply listening. Walking deeper into the cavernous den, she kept her eyes peeled for the newest member of Pitch’s and Jack’s ragtag team they called a family. It wasn’t long before Mother Nature became aware of a cold draft that didn’t quite feel like Jack’s wind. It was more . . . spine tingling. Bone chilling. It was riddled with fear.

Sera rounded a corner and found herself gazing down at a girl sitting on a mound of snow. Long black hair, almost as long as Sera’s, covered the girl’s face and almost hid her torso. The girl was running a tentative finger over the stone floor, drawing patterns with her ice. She stopped moving when she realized someone was watching her. Glancing up, her mane of straight hair shifted to reveal one of her eyes. Sera stiffened at the sight of the girl’s eye. “Are you blind?” she asked without thinking to withhold such a question.

At first, Sera was convinced the girl wasn’t going to answer. When she did speak, her voice was soft, “No. I see just fine.”

Sera tilted her head to the side as she continued staring at the eye. The longer she stared, the more she understood the determination in the child’s gaze. Sera’s knowledge of the girl’s powers resurfaced as she realized what the girl was trying to do. She recognized that look of concentration. “Bad news, sister: you can’t freeze me.”

“I can’t seem to freeze anyone anymore.” The girl actually sounded upset at the idea.

Sera smirked and moved to sit by the girl. “You can freeze humans just by looking at them, right?”

“Yeah,” the girl responded sullenly. Good. She was comfortable enough with Sera to discuss that sort of thing.

But Sera still felt it best to introduce herself. “Seraphina. Just call me Sera. Mortals know me as Mother Nature.” She held out her hand in as friendly a way as she could. The girl stared at Sera’s hand like it was going to bite her. Again, Sera read the girl’s expression. “I don’t mind the cold. I don’t exactly have a choice. My dad’s dating an icicle.”

She had hoped the comment would make the girl smile or laugh. She couldn’t tell past all the hair, though. But the girl did take her hand, and Sera watched as ice ran up her arm. The girl watched Sera’s reaction, checking to see if she flinched or pulled away. When she didn’t, she said, “I’m Yuki-onna. Onna for short.”

“You’re the Snow Woman,” Sera said. “You freeze anyone who threatens you.”

“Well,” Onna said, shrugging and pulling her hair aside to reveal a small, plump face of a young girl of about Sophie’s age, “not a woman. Just . . . the Snow Girl.” She looked up at Sera with those blue, iridescent eyes. “And you’re the man in black’s daughter?”

Sera’s smirk widened. “You mean Pitch? Yeah. According to the disc in the sky, you’re just as much his kid as the Fearling is.”

Her face turned stern. “His name is Rin.”

Sera couldn’t help but feel a bit of sentiment for the Fearling. He’d managed to find himself a friend. Or sister, rather. “Sorry. I’m not used to him yet.” Changing the subject, Sera asked, “How are you liking it here?”

Onna’s gaze softened again. She said, “I like it. Jack’s nice.” She giggled to herself before adding, “Rin calls him Frosty Junk.”

Sera chuckled as well. “That’s his speed, alright.” Watching the girl, Sera was certain that Onna didn’t quite understand what all that nickname entailed. She still had a sort of innocence about her despite her unknown origin. It was refreshing talking to someone who didn’t have as extensive a knowledge of the world as Rin declared he had. In his mind, he was a fountain of information. “You like Rin.”

It was a fact. She didn’t need Onna to nod yes. “He keeps the Nightmares away from me while I sleep. Did you know he can’t sleep?”

Sera raised her eyebrows and sighed. “I did not know that. Guess that makes him harder to sneak up on.”

“I don’t see why people dislike him.”

Really? Sera thought to herself. The face didn’t give it away? For some reason it struck Sera as odd that Onna could overlook Rin’s appearance. It also struck Sera as odd that she knew nothing of Rin’s deeds. She stopped her train of thought. Of course she didn’t know. Rin wouldn’t have told her and Pitch and Jack wouldn’t want her to know something like that. Not yet. She elected to take the neutral route. “Rin had it rough in the beginning.”

The two were silent for a while. Then Onna asked, “Did the Man in the Moon send Pitch and Jack to you, too?”

Sera shook her head. “No. I’m different. I’m much older than Manny.” She pointed to Onna. “You’re lucky. You know that, right?”

“How?” she asked.

“It took Jack more than three hundred years to find his family. You didn’t have to wait that long.”

Her eyes widened, and her look of shock had almost the same chilling effect on Sera as Rin’s terrifying gaze. No wonder she was at home with the Nightmare King and the baby Guardian. “Three hundred years?”

“Yep.”

“How’d he survive alone that long?”

“No one knows. I guess he kept his hopes alive, or something inspirational like that.”

Just then, Rin popped out of the shadows, making both the girls jump. Onna calmed down a lot quicker than Sera did. “Alright. Let’s try this out.” Onna giggled as Rin fumbled with her hair, attempting to separate it into three even parts.

Sera stayed seated, becoming aware of another presence looming behind her. Standing up, she moved to stand by her father. “She’s timid, but she’s not fragile. That much is plain to see.”

“No one in this family is fragile. Don’t be ridiculous.”

She rolled her eyes at Pitch’s flat expression. “She lacks the sarcastic bite the rest of this group has mastered. How is she going to survive the sass?”

“By either freezing everyone or having Rin terrify them into oblivion.”

Her eyebrows lifted as they watched Rin struggle to pleat Onna’s hair. “He is incredibly fond of her. And she of him. How do you and Jack feel about that?”

“Jack is ecstatic, and it does not trouble me though I’m positive that it should.” He dropped his flat expression in favor of a more revealing one. “Their friendship is familiar to me.”

Sera smiled, gazing at her father. “I suppose it would be.”

A moment of silence passed between them as Rin continued to argue with Onna’s hair, the girl giggling at his struggle. Their quiet was interrupted by Pitch asking, “Have you any news?”

“Nope. Just visitng.”

“Why do I get the intense feeling that your frequent visits indicate the calm before the storm?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She honestly didn’t, this time.

“Sera, you’re a female in a relationship with a male, and I’m assuming the relationship has gone from purely platonic to—.”

“Okay, I’m going to stop you there.”

“What I’m saying is it’s only a matter of time.”

Sera stared intently at her father. Was it possible for him to furrow his brow that harshly? Apparently so. “Are you seriously suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“Seraphina, you are nature incarnate. You tell me what comes next.” Oh, he was gritting his teeth now.

Her eyes narrowed. “And what then?”

If she wasn’t hyperaware of what he was capable of, she would find his current facial expression hilarious. His internal struggle must’ve come to a head, because he smoothed his expression and said, “Then I shall maintain my ill-advised, narrow-minded promise and refrain from killing your rabbit.”

That was a much more positive answer than she’d expected out of him. Smiling to herself, she said, “Alright then.” And she would hold him to that.

Their discussion was interrupted by one Jack Frost, who swooped in with a look on his face that spelled trouble. Pitch’s whole demeanor changed at the sight of Jack’s impossibly pale face. “What is it?”

“Let me speak to you in private.” He glanced at Sera, a thought crossing his mind. “You may as well hear this, too.”

Sera’s stomach lurched as Pitch grabbed her and Jack by the wrists and transported them away from Rin and Onna via shadows. When they reappeared in a corner of the lair she didn’t recognize, she held her gut and gasped out, “The two of you really ought to work on giving people warnings.”

“My apologies,” Pitch said. He turned to Jack. “What have you found?”

“I went to Tooth for Onna’s memories. I managed to convince her to show them to me.”

“And?” Pitch asked.

Jack hesitated, closing his eyes and sighing. Then he said, “You were right, Pitch. She won’t want to know what happened.” Sera noted how only one of Jack’s arms was shaking. The arm that had once contained Rin. Looking back up at the winter spirit’s face, she could see his fear. He continued with, “She watched her family die. Killed by an avalanche. She was buried alive, under tons of snow. She couldn’t scream, or breathe, or move. She was completely trapped.”

Pitch reached for Jack’s hand as the Guardian’s voice started to crack. His touch brought the baby Guardian’s shaking to a halt. Once Jack’s breathing had evened out again, Pitch asked, “What else did you learn?”

“What do I need to know?” Sera asked. It wasn’t meant to be a harsh question, but she assumed Jack had invited her to this conversation for a reason.

She hadn’t been wrong. He looked at her sadly and said, “The avalanche was caused by one of the plague spirits.”

Her mind went blank. The only question that came to mind was, “When?”

“During our battle with Pillan. Just as he was breaking out,” the Guardian answered.

“Then why did the Man in the Moon raise her now?” Pitch asked.

Jack shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t even know how long I was dead before I was raised.”

“But she’s capable of growth. Her brain is still active like Rin’s,” Pitch mused.

“Maybe she was kept in a sort of . . . cryonic state. I don’t know.”

“For two to three years?”

“How do you even know her brain is active, anyway?”

“I just do.”

“But there’s no threat of the plague spirits returning?” Sera interrupted. Jack and Pitch quit their discussion. The winter spirit shook his head. That did little to calm her nerves.

“She was born of cold and fear,” Pitch uttered. “That’s why she’s here with us. But what would the Man in the Moon want with her?”

“Not to sound conceited or anything, but when I got back my memories I knew why I was chosen. From what I’ve learned of the other Guardians, they had defining moments displaying why they were chosen. I have no idea what about her would draw him to her. I don’t even know what he’s thinking—.”

“He’s a pretentious sphere who doesn’t frickin’ talk to anyone. You’re not going to know what he’s thinking,” Sera blurted out. “For all we know, this is a device he intends to use against the two of you.”

“Sera—.”

“Don’t,” she pointed at Jack, “treat me like I haven’t experienced what you have.” She saw Jack shrink away, Pitch tightening his hold on the winter spirit’s hand reassuringly. Forcing herself to soften her tone, she said, “In truth, I haven’t. But I have had things I cared about . . .,” she thought about it, “things I loved taken from me because of the decisions he’s forced on us.” She sighed, Jack daring to make eye contact with her again. She shrugged, again forcing her temper down. “For all we know, Onna hasn’t shown or had her defining moment yet.”

“We can never know with him,” Pitch concurred.

Sera sighed again, struggling to keep calm. She felt her insides begin to cave as she said, “I should go. Beat up Bunny over this or something.” For the sake of avoiding an argument, she pretended not to see her father’s look of joy at the thought. Tapping her foot twice, she said as the tunnel formed, “Don’t let her be your Nidhogg.”



Rin and Onna watched from one of the bridges as Sera jumped down the rabbit hole. He’d given up on braiding her hair as soon as it seemed like the ‘adults’ were going off to chat about something important. Pitch and Jack remained in the same spot. Silent at first, they didn’t speak for a few moments. When they started talking, Rin looked at Onna. She looked stricken. “Are you okay?”

Of course she’s not, you dumbass. She just found out she watched her loved ones die, he thought. He regretted encouraging her to listen in with him. Despite her fearful appearance, she nodded and whispered, “Yeah.”

Rin glanced back down at the Guardian and the Boogeyman. Thinking back on what he knew of Jack’s past, he wondered something. “Maybe we need to ask the Man in the Moon ourselves,” he murmured. 

Onna stared at him like he’d grown two heads. “But they said—.”

“He talks to Sandy Claws.” The look she gave him told him she wasn’t familiar with the name. “North. He talks to North. Maybe he’ll help you,” Rin reasoned. Then Rin remembered that he wasn’t exactly welcome among the Guardians. He was safe because of his tie to Jack Frost, but he was not welcome. Somehow, he didn’t think that would be the case with Onna. Onna had been given life by their leader, not their enemy.

She still looked so scared. So sad. It reminded Rin of Jack’s thoughts on the loss of his family. It reminded Rin of what it’d been like living alone for eight months. Starved for . . . he stopped himself. Looking down, his grip on his rod tightened until his already pale knuckles whitened further. As if she knew what he was thinking, Onna placed her hands on Rin’s. He managed a small smile for her, his teeth still slightly exposed though his lips were for the most part closed. Onna said, “Would he tell me why I’m here?”

Rin nodded. “I think so. At the very least, North will give you the center speech.”

“The center speech?”

“Yeah. Frosty Junk got it. You might get it.” Standing, Rin stared at the ice that had travelled up his arms as a result of Onna’s touch. “Considering we might meet humans or mortals, we should probably get you some gloves and glasses. Keep people from freezing over.”

“Sorry,” she uttered.

“Don’t be. I like it. Others might not, but you’re right at home here. But look where you’re standing.” She did, staring down at the shoes Jack had given her. “You don’t spread ice by walking because you wear boots. Cover your hands and eyes, and I think people won’t notice you’re abnormal. If they see you at all, that is.” Then he glanced at her skin. “Except your bluish skin tone, that is. Looking sort of dead, there.”

She smiled at his tone of voice, making his smile widen in return. Onna said, “If the Man in the Moon chooses people for a reason, and there’s no reason to choose me, does that mean I’m bad?”

Rin didn’t think twice before shaking his head. “No. You can’t be bad.” Rin was bad. He was considered worse than Pitch by a couple of the Guardians. But Onna couldn’t possibly be bad.

“Then who’s Nidhogg?” Rin froze at the question. “Who’re the plague spirits that did this to me?”

Rin didn’t know how to answer. Usually, he was brutally honest. The only time people need fear what he was thinking was when he was silent. But would telling Onna about Pillan be any worse that her learning of her origin? Or his past, for that matter? He didn’t think she was aware of just how he’d entered this world. Something told him she wouldn’t shun him if he did tell her that, though. But she needed reassurance that she wasn’t a threat now. He sighed, then said, “He was a dragon. The plague spirits were part of his armies. He was killed by Pitch, Sera, and the Guardians.” It was the next part he didn’t want to say. “He was given to Sera by the Man in the Moon. Like you were . . . sort of given to us.”

Onna squinted. “Do they expect me to be like him?”

He shook his head again. “No. Nidhogg was a weird case. He was a bag of dicks.”

“Huh?” Onna looked confused by his terminology, and suddenly he remembered that she wasn’t on the same level as him. Mentally, at least.

Patting her shoulder. “In a few years you’ll understand. For now, you didn’t hear me say that. Now let’s get you some fancy gloves and classy glasses.”



Onna knew very little about the Guardians. She knew that Jack was one of them, and other members included individuals such as Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and the Easter Bunny. Sera, Pitch’s daughter, was Mother Nature and she was in a relationship with the Easter Bunny. Pitch had once fought wars against the Guardians, but a semi-alliance had been formed when he had befriended Jack Frost. Rin happened sometime during their friendship, although she didn’t exactly understand what happened to bring him into the picture. There had been another war against a dragon and his armies that had nearly torn these immortals apart. Most of these conflicts were headed by or overseen by the Man in the Moon. He had founded the Guardians’ order. These were the facts that Onna knew.

What she didn’t know was why the Man in the Moon had chosen to let her live while her family died. What she didn’t know was why the Man in the Moon would bother to give her hope for a family if he was potentially planning to have them take her life. That’s what happened to Nidhogg, right? Would that happen to her? Or was she destined to fight alongside Jack? She hoped that was the case.

As she and Rin traveled, Rin leading the way, she certainly hoped this North could help her. 



Sneaking into Santa’s Workshop was a challenge. Like sneaking into a prison, really. Jack could never manage it. Then again, Rin wasn’t Jack. Frosty Junk couldn’t hide in the shadows and keep to the darkness like he could.

Onna kept up with him easily, moving in her cold, misty form whenever out in the open. They’d had no trouble finding her a pair of white gloves and small colored glasses, having nicked them from a store somewhere on the globe. They stopped just inside the chute where North’s sleigh took off long enough for Onna to ask, “Why are we sneaking?”

“The yetis,” Rin answered, pointing at the hulking creatures up on a scaffold maintaining the condition of the chute. “They’ll kick us out before we even get the chance to see North.”

They continued moving quietly, very few yetis suspecting anything. Phil, of course, came the closest to finding them. Rin was fairly certain that yeti had a sixth sense. Once Rin and Onna made their way into the Workshop area, Rin grabbed Onna by the hand and teleported her to the area where the globe was poised. Looking up at the gigantic orb, Rin couldn’t help but smile at Onna’s look of pure amazement at the inner workings of North’s home. From here, they could see the elves and yetis working hard on the next Christmas’s gifts. It wasn’t the toys Onna was staring at. It was the lights on the globe. “What are they for?”

“Those lights are the kids Frosty Junk and the others protect.”

Onna let out the breath she had been holding on. “That’s a lot. How do they do it?”

“Well,” he said, “I’m not entirely sure myself. Technically, the Nightmare Man and I are the kind of thing they’re protected from.”

“Wow,” she whispered.

“Rin!” came a deep voice that forced the Fearling and the Snow Girl to turn around. North approached them, and to his credit he was pretty good at hiding his nervousness at Rin’s presence. If Rin could overlook it altogether, North seemed pretty pleasant. He liked to pretend he wasn’t just being pleasant for Frosty Junk’s sake. “What exactly brings you here?”

“Meet Jack’s new protégé slash pseudo-daughter!” As Rin pulled Onna forward, the girl shoved her blue, wire-framed, circular glasses further up on her face.

“Excellent!” North’s mood suddenly turned from semi-nervous to joyful as he leaned over and held a hand out to Onna. “Enchanted, my lady.” Onna couldn’t hide her grin as she confidently took North’s hand, allowing his large fist to swallow his. Her grin widened when the glove she was wearing prevented her from involuntarily sending ice up his arm in patterns. When North released her hand and straightened up again, he said, “Do you need something? Does Jack know where the two of you are?”

“Well . . . not quite. What we need to ask will probably upset him because that would be admitting that we eavesdropped on his and Pitch’s conversation, and Sera said some things that upset them—.”

“Alright, cut to chase, Rin.”

“Why would the Man in the Moon choose to bring Onna back to life?”

North’s brow furrowed as he ran his fingers through his beard. “What brings this up?”

“Her memories. Jack didn’t want her to know about them because they’re . . . pretty bad. One of the troubles with eavesdropping, I suppose. You find out what you don’t wanna know.”

Onna’s hand slipped into his and tightened as a sad look fell over North’s face. He thought for a moment, no doubt imagining what sort of memories she could be suppressing to the point that Jack would want to keep them hidden. He was silent, the only noises being the unfazed processes and building of toys in the Workshop. When North spoke, he said, “It is hard predicting what Manny might have planned. He has not chosen new Guardian. There is no need to choose new Guardian right now, really.”

“Can you talk to him?”

North shook his head. “Manny speaks when he needs to. He is not exactly chatty.”

“Clearly.” Rin sighed. “He moves in mysterious fucking ways.”

“Watch your mouth!” North said, pointing a stern finger at Rin.

Rin simply turned to Onna and asked, “Did you hear anything?” She shook her head. Looking back at North, Rin said, “See? She heard nothing. We’re cool.”

North squinted at the Fearling and shook his head. “Should have guessed you’d be bad influence on her.”

“Hey! ‘Bad Influence’ is my theme song. You should listen to it sometime!”

The nervousness reemerged in North, but before Rin could suggest that they leave, Onna said, “Am I evil?”

That stopped both of them. North’s eyes widened and he asked, “Why would you think that?”

“What other reason would he have in choosing me?”

“Onna, you’re not—.”

She stopped Rin with, “I know what you said. But if I really were evil, would you tell me?” Rin had a feeling that he’d underestimated Onna. It occurred to him that though she was technically much, much younger than him, in the mortal sense and the immortal sense, she was incredibly quick-witted. She was quick enough to realize his answer before he could shake his head. “You wouldn’t,” she whispered.

“Both of you, I’m going to explain something to you that I want you to remember,” North said. Kneeling down so he was at eye level with them, he said, “Sometimes, even elders can be wrong. Even elders can be biased. Just because someone says you are supposed to be a certain way does not mean that you have to be that way. It was Jack that taught us that lesson. And it was Jack that taught us that things can change. People can change.” He directed his attention at Rin. “You witnessed that firsthand. Remember that the next time Mother Nature shoots you thinking you’re a threat.”

“You were _not_ supposed to know about that!”

North chuckled before referring to both of them again. “I will give you short speech before I get back to work. Find your center.” Rin nudged Onna, and saw her smile out of the corner of his eye. “Your center is what guides you, the thing you wish to see in this world. It defines you. But,” he held up a finger, “you also have a hand in defining it. Another thing Jack taught us.”

“How’d he teach you that?” Onna asked.

“Same way he taught us people change. Being with Pitch.”

Rin asked. “Why is it that every time you say Pitch, it sounds like you’re saying bi—?”

“Now speech has gone completely over head.” Onna giggled as North stood up, his hands on his waist. “You two better run back to lair before they realize you’re gone.”

Rin grabbed Onna’s hand and pulled her into the shadows. “Don’t worry. They’ll blame me for leading poor Onna astray.”

“Watch yourself, Rin.”

Rin decided then that he really, really liked North. “Stay fat and jolly, Sandy Claws!” he jibed. North’s laughter was the last thing he heard before he transported Onna and himself to the chute. Laughing, he said, “He’s right. We should probably get back.”

Before they could make anymore progress out of the North Pole, a large hand grabbed the back of Rin’s jacket and threw him against an icy wall. The air was knocked out of him, and his ears started ringing.

He thought he heard Onna scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh. There's one more chapter. That will be posted on Monday. Sorry D:


	4. The Ice and the Shadows

“Stop!” Onna shouted as a yeti slammed Rin against the wall and Rin’s rod clattered to the ground. She got ready to run at him, but was grabbed by another yeti from behind. She screamed, struggling against the arms that practically engulfed her.

“Guys, we’re good! Didn’t do any—,” Rin was cut off by a fist in his gut. Air fled his lungs, and Onna found herself panicking, shouting for them to let him go. Rin recovered enough to say, “Let the girl go home. Come on, guys. We’re not—,” another blow silenced him. The air left him in spasms as Onna screamed again.

What were they going to do? She knew nothing about yetis. She knew nothing about Rin and why they’d beat him up like this when he’d done nothing wrong. She thought North was friendly. Why were his workers attacking them?

She did know one thing: if it was alive and warm, she could freeze it. Shaking her head, the colored glasses fell from her face. Slipping her gloves off, she sank both hands into the yeti’s arms. It yowled and released her, allowing her to drop and run for the yeti pinning Rin. Sinking her hands into its fur, she garnered the same reaction from him as she had from the other. Rin fell to the ground, holding his gut and struggling to regain his strength. Moving to his side, she took her place between him and the yetis, who were trying to figure out how to get the ice to stop spreading.

More yetis gathered, ready to grab the two kids again. Rin was still collecting himself on the ground, and Onna’s panic remained strong within her. Kicking her shoes off hastily, she almost tripped on them as she stomped on the ground and sent a wave of ice over the already frozen chute. Her fear and panic made the ice bitterer as it snaked across the ground. The yetis howled and slipped, and she really wished they were close enough to the downward facing slop that led outside for them to just slide away. Some of them struggled to get back up while other yetis began approaching. More than ever, she wished she could just transport Rin out of there as easily as he could transfer them. “Leave us alone!” she shouted, kneeling by her friend and wrapping her arms around his chest protectively. She was careful to keep her balled fists from touching him lest she freeze him too.

Just as she thought Rin was never going to get up or recover from the blows he’d received, an inredible amount of cold wind knocked everyone off kilter. Onna held Rin close, leaning both of them against the wind. The wind grew so strong the yetis were sliding away, being driven deeper into the chute. Onna had to freeze herself in place, Rin in front of her as she used herself as a makeshift wall for him to brace himself on. She barely managed to catch her gloves, boots, and glasses before they slid away. She fought to glove her hands again, covering Rin’s face as soon as they were on. He didn’t hesitate to accept the shield from the wind. When the blizzard winds were at their strongest, Onna looked up, her eyes tearing up before promptly freezing in the cold. At the downward slope in the chute floated none other than Jack Frost, the wind at his beck and call as he drifted behind its terrible gust. As he drew nearer, the wind began to let up. When his feet touched the ground, it died completely. Onna shrank from him, fearful that he would lash out at her and Rin. He’d seemed so nice, so kind, that she’d never imagined he could look so . . . dead. His whole body was iced over. Everything he touched became layered with frost. His eyes glowed an electric blue that made Onna’s eyes seem dull and weak. He was completely stone-faced, but his body language was teaming with fury.

He stared at the yetis, who were smart enough to be still before Jack. Onna watched as the elder winter spirit glared without ever moving a muscle. He was so still that even he looked frozen. That is, until he said in a deadpan voice, “Get them out of here.”

Suddenly, Onna and Rin were falling through darkness.



“What were you _not_ thinking?!”

“Everything was fine! Then Phil—.”

“You know they don’t trust you. You know what they’d do to you if given the chance!”

“I thought Frosty Junk had spoken to them years ago. How was I supposed to know they’d attack?”

“How? How?! After all this time, you still don’t get that you’re not safe?”

“I realize that! I just don’t understand why North—.”

“He’s a Guardian! You’re a Fearling! The whole reason you’re in that body is because you were smart enough to realize they’d hunt you, and you go and do a thing like this: endanger yourself and Onna!”

“Onna was never in any danger, and I was just trying to help!”

Pitch was just about ready to yank his hair out. After getting Onna and Rin back to the lair, he was thirsting for an explanation. It hadn’t taken long at all for the Nightmare King to realize the two kids had left, but it’d taken longer to figure out where they’d gone. It wasn’t until Jack swore he felt something pulling him north that they figured it out. Jack had been furious. Pitch had never seen him that livid. But the Pole. Why was it always the Pole? Pitch thought.

Of course, now Onne was hiding behind Rin in fear and the Fearling still had yet to explain himself. Pitch reigned in his temper as best he could, forcing the shadows to stop writhing. Folding his arms and sighing, he asked, “What were you doing at the Pole?”

“Trying to figure some things out,” Rin grumbled.

“What. Things?” Pitch growled through gritted teeth.

“We heard you talking, okay? Onna’s memories, Man in the Moon, we heard it.”

Pitch’s expression went blank. His senses tingled as he tasted Onna’s fear. Rin shifted uncomfortably, holding his abdomen as the Snow Girl clung to his shoulders. The tension seeped out of Pitch, and before he knew what he was saying, he asked, “Are you alright?” Rin peered over his shoulder at Onna. Good, he still had sense enough to realize who the Nightmare King was speaking to. It took the girl a moment to look up and realize he was addressing her. She hesitated, but eventually nodded. You’re not being truthful,” Pitch whispered. She shrank back behind Rin at him calling her out. She was still so scared that he could practically feel it in his bones. “Neither Jack nor I are angry with you, Onna.” Pitch stared at Rin then. “And Jack isn’t angry with you either, Rin.”

“Oh, and you are?” Pitch didn’t answer. After a moment, Rin realized what Pitch wasn’t willing to say aloud. His features softened, and Pitch felt some of the boy’s stubbornness drain from him. To his credit, he didn’t say what Pitch was feeling aloud either. Instead, he changed the subject. “Onna wanted to make sure the Man in the Moon hadn’t raised her to be a threat.”

“What?” To Pitch, that notion seemed utterly ridiculous.

“Why else would he—?” Onna began, but Pitch stepped forward and gestured for Rin to move aside.

When Pitch was kneeling in front of her, Onna clutching the glasses the Fearling had probably stolen to her chest, he asked, “Where would you get an idea like that?”

“Wasn’t the dragon evil?” Her voice quavered, and for once Pitch couldn’t help wanting to be a little less terrifying. Dammit, he thought. Making individuals fear him was so much easier than trying to convince this child he wasn’t all that threatening. More satisfying, too.

The question finally sank in and he wound up glaring at Rin. “What? She asked,” the Fearling said.

“We need to get you a filter, because clearly you don’t know when to shut up.” Pitch returned his attention to Onna. “You are not evil. Whether or not you’re evil cannot be determined on a whim. I don’t believe in fate or destiny. Individuals simply are the way their environments raise them to be. Even an environment can’t determine an individual’s character. And you still have many years of growth to figure out where you stand. You don’t even have to take a side if you don’t want to. Sera still refuses to take sides, for example. You shouldn’t concern yourself with something like this so soon.”

“But the Guardians. You said they don’t trust Rin because he’s a Fearling. And they fought against you. Why do they treat you terribly and me differently? Why am I different just because the Man in the Moon chose me?”

Pitch exchanged a look with Rin, to which the Fearling responded with, “She’s sharp.”

Indeed she was. Certainly she displayed one of the few traits the Boogeyman could respect in a child: their minds weren’t terribly complex. They saw things plainly, and were straightforward with how they felt and what they thought. There was no room for deception in someone who thought in such a simplistic manner. On the other hand, they still saw black and white. They had yet to accommodate the gray areas of life.

Pitch sighed, then asked, “Before I explain, what did the Cossack tell you?”

“Huh?” She was clearly unfamiliar with the term.

“She got the center speech,” Rin answered for her.

“Ah,” Pitch said. He thought for a moment before explaining, “The Guardians and I see things differently. Our centers, for lack of a more politically correct term, conflict. But that’s complicated and a rather touchy subject, so Jack will have to explain it to you lest I get frustrated.” He inhaled deeply before continuing. “Rin was created by accident—.”

“I’m a love child,” the Fearling interrupted.

“Contain yourself,” Pitch snarled at Rin, who held a hand up in mock surrender. Pitch turned back to Onna. “When he . . . developed, not even I trusted him.” Pitch’s voice got softer as he found himself admitting, “I thought he sought to harm those I’d come to care for.” Pitch rolled his eyes and glanced at the Fearling. “He did a very convincing job of making me believe that.”

“Hey, water under the bridge, old man.”

“But my reasons for having once distrusted him and the Guardians’ are slightly different. His species is obsolete, and for good reason. By the end of the Great War between the Guardians and myself, Fearlings were out of control and roaming the planet hungrily. Each was hunted down and annihilated. And the fact that one of their kind exists hundreds of years after their extinction is . . . terrifying, if you think about it.”

“But Rin isn’t the same,” Onna argued.

Pitch could feel the Fearling’s warmth for the Snow Girl even without looking. “Indeed he isn’t. He is different because of Jack’s influence on him, I believe. But the Guardians have been fighting darkness for centuries, just as I’ve been struggling to gain a foothold in this world for centuries. It is hard to change a routine that is so old.” He looked down. “Grudges die hard, but we manage. For our families.” He held out his hand to her. “And you’re part of this family, no matter what side you choose. And it is _your_ choice.”

She stared at his palm for so long that he almost retracted it. When she asked, “Can I hug you?” he blinked. He wasn’t certain he’d heard right, but still nodded. She stepped forward and tentatively wrapped her arms around his neck. He waited to see if she’d pull away, and he had the distinct feeling that she had hesitated for the same reason. But he wrapped his arms around her, assuring her that he was no stranger to cold. The tension between them ceased, and her fear completely dissipated. Pitch actually smiled. 

“Yay, group hug!” Rin said excitedly, making Onna laugh as he wrapped his arms around her. It only lasted a moment before he ‘remembered’ he was injured and fell back murmuring, “Too soon.”

They all pulled apart before Pitch said to Onna, “Let’s freeze him.” She giggled.

“You love me and you know it, Nightmare Man,” the Fearling declared.

“We’ll start with his mouth.” Again, Onna laughed.



“What exactly did Rin do to deserve getting roughed up?”

“What?”

“You still don’t know what your yetis do to trespassers, do you?”

“He wasn’t trespassing. We had good conversation—.”

“And then your yetis caught him and beat him up.”

Thinking back on the confrontation with North, Jack couldn’t remember ever having seen him that upset. He hadn’t even seemed that upset during that one Easter many years ago. No one spoke of that Easter anymore, it being a sensitive topic for Jack and his longtime partner.

“I’ll handle them,” North had said, getting up. His upset had turned to fury just as swiftly as Jack had frozen his workers.

“You’ll have to be thawing them out.” That had brought North to a started halt. “I remember those beatings well. Back before I was a Guardian.”

“Jack, I—.”

“You didn’t know. You never knew.”

North’s brow had furrowed and he’d pointed a determined finger at Jack. “Well, that’s about to change.”

Now that Jack was back at the lair, he was beginning to feel a little guilty for leaving the group of yetis frozen in the sleigh chute. But only a little. He hadn’t been in the lair long before Pitch was looming over him.

“He didn’t know it happened,” Jack said before Pitch could ask.

“And both are fine. I’ve already spoken to them.”

Jack knew his Boogeyman had probably done more than simply speak, but he didn’t challenge it. “Rin is fine?”

“Bruised and nothing more.”

Jack ground his teeth, but didn’t comment. When the Nightmare King took his staff from his hand and threw it into the shadows, he didn’t argue. He knew all of Pitch’s hiding places for it. He sighed as the Boogeyman wrapped his arms around Jack, the Guardian accepting the comfort. But there was something in the way the Nightmare King was holding him that didn’t feel right. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

It was Pitch’s turn to sigh. “They worry me.”

“You and me both.” Jack pulled back slightly to look up at him. “What exactly worries you?”

“For someone so young, she is entirely too observant. And I’m not sure if Rin’s influence is something she needs.”

“Me either, but the two are good for each other. She was protecting him when I arrived at the Workshop.”

A small smile crept across Jack’s lips as Pitch pulled him back into a tight hug. Pitch whispered, “She’s afraid of your leader’s intentions for her.”

“That’s reasonable,” Jack agreed.

“She’s too young to be concerned about this.”

“Agreed. But she’s got us.” Jack’s smile widened as he held his Boogeyman.

“I assured her of that.”

“She’s not afraid of you anymore?” Pitch shook his head. “That’s amazing.”

“I suppose.” They held each other a while longer before pulling apart and moving in the direction of Onna’s corner. “She protected him, you say?”

“Yeah. Phil was in pretty bad shape. She got him good with her ice.”

The Nightmare King didn’t even bother hiding his smile from Jack. “You know,” he uttered, “she strikes me as being more of a combination of you and Seraphina.”

Jack smirked. That is, he smirked until he realized what that implied. “That’s slightly disturbing, actually.”

“Seraphina was afraid Onna wouldn’t be able to keep up with the amount of sarcasm and strangeness in our home.” As they rounded the corner, the two children came into view. “I’d say she’ll survive.”

Jack folded his arms, his smile at its widest at the sight of Onna and Rin on her pile of snow. While Rin didn’t sleep, she was curled up under his arm while he guarded her from . . . whatever he felt like guarding her from. Instead of speaking, Rin saluted them without so much as a quip. Jack hailed him in response. “She’s that witty?” Jack whispered.

“She’s that adored. Her intelligence and his obsession with the inappropriate aside, she has been completely accepted by all members of this family.”

Jack leaned into Pitch, whose smile widened at the contact. The winter spirit closed his eyes as the Nightmare King placed a kiss on the top of his head before nuzzling his hair. “You softie.”

“Only for you,” Pitch responded, his arm sliding over Jack’s shoulders as they left the two be.



Onna’s family was a mixed one. One elder fought for one side, the other being the enemy. Her adoptive brother was a pariah and her adoptive sister was fiercely neutral. Lines were often blurred and arguments sometimes ensued. She learned quickly that not all things in this life were clear-cut and easily explained. But in the months following her arrival, she grew to love each member of her family. Granted, her family’s dysfunctional ways were sometimes hard to understand.

But she wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now you know Onna! Let me know if you have anymore requests. My requests page is getting kind of empty. This week, I'll have another chapter up of Surprise Me. I'm moving that to a different series, one for all my AUs. I may even have another one-shot/AU up this week if the spirit moves me.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. Sorry it took so long to get this one done.


End file.
